By Patrick Quinn
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Windspeaker.com
As the Canadian government increasingly showcases the cultural contributions of Indigenous peoples, creators like Jason Baerg are finding new international audiences for their work.
The Cree-Métis artist recently collaborated with designer Christopher Solar on a piece of furniture for one of Canada’s official diplomatic residences in Mexico.
Commissioned by Global Affairs Canada, Solar built the arc-shaped walnut table with a band of 40 coopered slats to provide a continuous surface for Baerg’s painted artwork. When the panels were returned, Solar wrapped them around the table’s ends with inlaid fragments of reclaimed copper from the roof of Canada’s Parliament building fastened on top during the final assembly.
“I designed it with a cabinet-like form as a way to provide as much vertical surface as possible for Jason Baerg’s painted artwork to spread across,” explained Solar. “The bare slats went to Toronto where Jason painted them with this vibrant design. Thank you Jason for trusting me to respond to and modify your work!”
Describing itself as “proud ambassadors of cultural diplomacy,” Global Affairs Canada has recognized that art and culture are key drivers of building bridges internationally.
In 2021, Baerg’s artwork was displayed at the World Expo in Dubai and an exhibition at Canada House in London’s Trafalgar Square, home of the Canadian High Commission in the United Kingdom.
Baerg welcomed this collaboration as a natural extension of his mission to create pathways for his people. His artistic journey over more than 30 years, encompassing painting, sculpture, film and fashion, has taken him from Prince Albert, Sask. to the world stage.
“I have many different disciplines, it’s true, but I think the vehicle in which I’m really telling story is through colour,” said Baerg, currently based in Toronto. “I would say I’m a colourist. I see the medicines in the colour, rising our dopamine levels. Medicine can also be the way in which we hold love for our people.”
The late Anishinaabe artist Norval Morrisseau, often called the grandfather of contemporary Indigenous art in Canada, remains a key inspiration for Baerg’s vibrant work. Baerg knew Morrisseau personally, even driving him to a gallery show in New York in 2007 weeks before he passed away.
When Baerg received his spirit name, Mihko-Pihêsiw Napîw, which means Red Thunderbird, the Elder Raymond Ballantyne from Pelican Narrows First Nation noted that he could feel the presence of Morrisseau in the room, whose spirit name was Copper Thunderbird.
“A common motif in my artwork is a reference to a thunderbird,” Baerg said. “You’ll see a recurring motif on that cabinet that references the negative space between the wingspans of one of Norval Morrisseau’s drawings. I think about the copper in this piece and the reference to Norval.”
While the cabinet’s integration of copper was Solar’s idea, Baerg has emphasized the element in previous creations. He embraced the historical texture associated with repurposing pieces from Parliament Hill for a foreign embassy and referenced the conductive metal’s fundamental role in carrying telephone and internet signals.
“It’s a potent material,” explained Baerg. “When I think about copper from an Indigenous perspective, I think about some of the teachings I’ve received about water being purified by copper. Copper wire supports communications through technology. All of those things reinforce and extend messaging in the piece.”
Baerg believes another layer of significance in this work was added by the participation of his husband Tony, who has Aztec ancestry and has lived several times in Mexico City, where the cabinet will reside. He said Mi’kmaw artist Michelle Sylliboy has given him insights into both his identity as a two-spirit person and his heritage as a stone carrier. Stones are considered sacred healers, holding spirit that connects people to their ancestors and the land’s stories.
“I’ve always been a stone carrier,” said Baerg. “Sometimes they’re loose in my pocket, sometimes they’re set in a ring. One of the things we’ve been gifted to do, as Michelle has noted, we often give stones to people who need them. I champion two-spirit spaces and Métis inclusion.”
Baerg acknowledged it’s “a challenging time being Métis these days.” To advance Métis self-determination and visibility in the arts, Baerg has co-founded The Shushkitew Collective and The Métis Artist Collective while serving as a volunteer chairperson of organizations such as the Indigenous Curatorial Collective and the National Indigenous Media Arts Coalition.
Baerg is currently working on a new exhibition for Toronto’s A Space Gallery launching April 28 that’s part of imagineNATIVE’s annual Art Crawl on June 4. Delving into the connections between memory, place and continuity, Baerg has been producing new paintings that are “in conversation with ancestral images” from his family archives.
The exhibition builds upon a previous project that animated photographs of his Métis ancestors through AI. Experiencing the emotional response from his mother, Baerg has crafted his recent canvases while in conversation with family, illustrating the healing potential of shared narratives.
At the same time, Baerg is working on a presentation for Fashion Art Toronto at the end of May. Having drawn full collections since he was 14, Baerg’s pioneering use of laser cutting and sculptural garments has been garnering increasing acclaim since he launched his Ayimach_Horizons collection in 2021.
“I’m thinking about rainbow luminosity in the dream,” said Baerg. “That’s the kind of space and focus we’re taking this year in fashion. We’re looking through the treasure trove of everything the rainbow could symbolize, thinking about the light and the future.”
As a tenured professor at Toronto’s OCAD University, Baerg regularly tells his classes he’s there to make their dreams come true but that they have to earn them. He’s excited to witness young Indigenous students echoing their ancestral practices through fresh interpretations and emerging technologies.
“I’m here to support good movements forward, building strong visions for what we can do and how we can participate as Indigenous peoples,” said Baerg. “I lean towards Indigenous futures, inspiring other people to aspire to make their greatest contributions in their life, whatever that may be.”